Lies of Omission: Algorithms versus Democracy

A lie of omission—withholding needed information to correct a false belief.

There is a sharp and more hostile divide emerging in the United States. The shift is documented by various polls, and the speed of the change is alarming. There are certainly contributing factors, but one factor is unique to the contemporary era: receiving the majority of our information via social media experiences. Media algorithms, and to some extent overt censorship, serve users curated content that is unlike wh...